Abstract 11828: Contemporary Temporal Trends in Cardiovascular Events Among Elderly Patients Hospitalized With Autoimmune Disorders and Concomitant Recreational Cannabis Use

Abstract

Background: The role of Cannabis in autoimmune diseases (AD) has been previously discussed due to its anti-inflammatory properties, however, cardiovascular events in elderly patients with AD are not well studied with habitual recreational cannabis usage or cannabis use disorder (CUD). Methods: We queried the National Inpatient Sample (2016-2019) for geriatric AD patients with vs. without CUD. Propensity score-matched analysis (1:1) was used to compare comorbidities, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events [MACCE: all-cause mortality, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), cardiac arrest and acute ischemic stroke (AIS)], and healthcare resource utilization in the CUD vs. non-CUD cohort with AD. Results: Of 11350 elderly admissions with AD, propensity-matched cohorts consisted of 5675 patients with CUD (49.1% male) and without CUD (26.7% male). Both groups had comparable ages (median 69 years), racial groups (>70% white), and income quartiles. CUD cohort showed higher rates of hypertension, PVD, smoking, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, depression, and prior MI (p<0.005) compared to the non-CUD cohort. The CUD cohort had higher rate of transfers to other care facilities (2.6% vs. 1.9%, p≤0.001), prolonged hospital stays, and higher cost, the adjusted odds were not significant for MACCE (OR 1.22, 95%CI 0.88-1.69, p=0.24), all-cause mortality (OR 0.74, 95%CI 0.37-1.46, p=0.34), AMI (OR 1.52, 95%CI 0.95-2.43, p=0.08), AIS (OR 1.19, 95%CI 0.69-2.17, p=0.57), or cardiac arrest (OR 1.34, 95%CI 0.55-3.26, p=0.51), compared to non-CUD elderly AD cohort. The CUD cohort often had routine discharges (52.7% vs. 47.4%, p≤0.001) compared to the non-CUD cohort. Conclusions: This nationwide propensity-matched analysis did not reveal worse cardiovascular outcomes in older AD patients with CUD. Future large-scale prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and evaluate the long-term effects of medicinal/recreational cannabis usage in these individuals.